How to Improve Credit Score?
Like a person checks on his health, he checks on his credit score also only when a problem arises. A bad credit score can prevent or make it difficult to get a loan, credit card, or low-interest rates whenever necessary. So, it's important to increase and maintain your good credit score, so that it may help you later with your financial dealings. Building a good credit score takes a long time, but still, there are some shortcuts to improve your credit score through credit repair. Let's go through some most prominent methods to increase your credit score.
Before getting to know the ways in which you can raise your credit score, you need to know some basics on credit score. A Credit Score which is also termed as FICO Score is a number ranging from 300 to 850, which is calculated in a mathematical way depending on the information in your credit report. Higher your score, the lender has less risk to lend you loans and with low-interest rates. If your credit score is below 700, then it's very likely that the lender may charge you high interest rates, or sometimes you may not even qualify for the loan. But if your credit score is above 700, then you can avail the best interest rates for the loan.
Now let's go through some tips to increase your credit score and keep it high.
The first piece of advice that any credit repair company or a financial advisor says to increase your credit score is to pay your bills on time. This is the most simple, yet useful tip to increase your credit score which most people underestimate its importance. Most lenders tend to look at how timely you were to pay your bills in the past. Late payments can severely damage your score and the more recent your payment problems are the worst is. 35% of your credit score is based on your credit history of paying bills on time. So to raise your score, start paying bills on time from today and you can see the rise in your score after a month.
Another method to generate a credit score is to get a small loan. If you are applying for a big loan and you have no credit history or debt and thus no credit score, then it may be difficult for the lenders to prove that you are a good borrower. So go and get a small loan and pay it off in time and thus raise your credit score. Make use of this tip very wisely as many small loans and increased debt may affect badly to you.
To maintain your credit score you should not close paid-off accounts. If you close your old accounts, it reduces your total available credit, which in turn changes your utilization ratio. This can lower your credit score as shutting your old accounts shortens your credit history.
There are many other ways also to raise or maintain your Credit Score. Some of them are:
Keep the balance low in your credit card
Maintain multiple cards wisely
Keep discipline on your spending habits
Keep a discipline on buying more with credit cards if you already have a debt on your present credit card
Pay off your credit card balance 5 days before the bill due.
Keep your debt always below 29% of your available credit
Now you have gone through some of the most prominent tips to improve your credit score.
So, what are you waiting for? Go and raise your credit score from today itself!